| ■ Experts call for vaccine to fight severe diarrhea | 2007.11.16 |
| HONG KONG (Reuters) - Paediatricians are urging governments in Asia to bolster national immunization programs with vaccines against the rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in young children. Rotavirus kills about 611,000 children worldwide a year, or a child every minute. Africa and Asia account for 90 percent of these deaths, with more than 180,000 occurring in Asia. Experts said the high costs of rotavirus vaccines (US$50 for each of 3 doses) should not be an obstacle. "In Mexico and Chile, they decided it would be cost effective (to have all children vaccinated against rotavirus) and data show a decrease in mortality and morbidity," said Usa Thisyakorn, president of the Paediatric Society in Thailand. The World Health Organization said it recommended the inclusion of rotavirus vaccination into national immunization programs in places where its efficacy has been proven, but it gave a word of caution. "To date, the clinical efficacy of rotavirus vaccines has been demonstrated mainly in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Experience with several other oral vaccines has demonstrated that in terms of vaccine safety and efficacy, considerable regional differences may exist," it said. |